


She Reminds Me of You

by howtosingit



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Boys In Love, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Romance, season 2 spec fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27529960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howtosingit/pseuds/howtosingit
Summary: Carlos finally meets his boyfriend’s mom.*A 2x01/season 2 spec fic.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 21
Kudos: 240





	She Reminds Me of You

**Author's Note:**

> The release of the 2x01 episode synopsis has got me hyped, and I'm gonna ride that train all the way to January 18th! THE BOYS ARE COMING BACK!!
> 
> This was a spur-of-the-moment morning free-write, so you can blame the ending on the fact that I had no plan and the boys took advantage of the situation.

\-----

When Carlos knocks on the front door of the Strand household, fresh off an eight-hour shift and still in uniform, he’s not entirely expecting to be ushered inside by someone he’s never met before. 

The woman who answers the door is instantly recognizable. Carlos has always thought of TK as basically a younger version of his dad, but he sees now that his boyfriend actually shares a lot of traits with his mom, including his angular jaw and piercing stare. There’s a kind of intensity about her that he’s seen before in TK and never really seen in Captain Strand. It’s almost like a challenging nature, gentle but intentionally disruptive. Meeting her feels, in some ways, like sliding the last pieces of a very difficult puzzle into place.

“Hello, officer,” TK’s mom says, tilting her head to the side as she studies him. It’s so reminiscent of his conversations with lawyers at work that he forgets for a moment that he’s not being questioned, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “You know, usually when a cop knocks on our front door, I assume my son has gotten into some kind of trouble again. But, since he’s been complaining on the couch all day, I’m starting to wonder what Owen’s got himself into.”

Her voice is different than he was expecting, a slightly husky rasp giving her a certain gravitas that makes Carlos want to straighten his spine, or turn and run. His own mother has her brand of well-practiced intimidation tactics that he’s learned to navigate over the years, but standing in front of TK’s mom feels entirely different, almost foreign, and he really doesn’t know how to respond.

Luckily, he’s saved by a shout from the living room, a familiar voice getting closer.

“Mom, drop the act, you knew he was coming,” TK says, finally appearing at his mom’s side. It’s only been a couple of days since they’ve seen each other, but Carlos still drinks him in, knowing that not only is it acceptable to do so now that they’re together, but appreciated as well. TK looks completely adorable in his customary sweatpants and a hoodie, his hair tousled from hours spent laying on the couch. “Hi, babe,” his boyfriend greets him, bright eyes locking onto Carlos.

“Hi,” he responds, feeling the way his face splits open at finally seeing his boyfriend in the flesh. They’ve texted a lot, and even talked for hours on the phone last night, but nothing beats TK Strand live and in-person. Carlos’s heart starts pounding in his chest - a normal reaction, at this point - and his left hand reaches out, seemingly of its own accord. His boyfriend doesn’t hesitate to take it in his own, linking their fingers together and squeezing gently. 

“How quickly I’m forgotten,” TK’s mom pipes in after a moment, and Carlos jumps, suddenly reminded of her presence. He knows she sees by the way her eyes twinkle and a smirk pulls at her lips. “And here I thought TK was bad, but I see that the heart-eyes are a mutual thing.”

“Mom,” TK whines. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she asks, turning towards him, her eyebrow raised in challenge. Carlos is impressed that his boyfriend doesn’t back down, though not completely surprised - TK likes a bit of a fight. His blue-green eyes widen as he stares pleadingly back at her. “Oh calm down, Tyler, it’s not like I told him how you spent an hour showing me pictures of him on your phone.”

TK lets out a groan, dropping his face into his free hand. He squeezes Carlos’s hand tighter, almost as if he’s afraid he’ll try to escape. Carlos tightens his own hold, taking a step closer to his boyfriend as his heart rises to pound in the back of his throat. The urge to wrap him in his arms threatens to overwhelm him.

“Well, since my son is being rude, I guess I’ll invite you inside this house that isn’t mine,” TK’s mom continues, stepping back to let him in. He ends up at TK’s side, rubbing his thumb over the back of his boyfriend’s hand. TK steps closer, resting his head against his shoulder.

“It’s really nice to finally meet you, ma’am,” Carlos says, holding out his right hand to her. He wants to make a good impression. “Carlos Reyes.”

She smiles back at him, her gaze moving from his face down to where TK’s is pressed against his arm, and then back at him. “I almost feel like I’ve already met you, Carlos. My ex-husband and son won’t stop talking about you,” she replies, taking his hand in her own with a much softer grip than he was expecting. “And please, call me Gwen.”

Carlos nods, dropping his hand back down to his side. He unlinks his fingers with TK, instead bringing his left arm around his back to grip his waist, shifting to allow his boyfriend to curl further into his side. One thing that Carlos has learned about TK in the months that he’s known him is that he relies on touch to communicate most of the time. Carlos is only too happy to silently converse with him whenever possible.

“Well, Carlos,” Gwen says, turning away from them to grab her purse off the table by the door, “TK and I ordered takeout right before you got here, so I’m just going to run and pick it up. He made sure to put your order in, too.”

Carlos nods again, watching as she pulls open the front door once more. “I should be back in about 30 minutes,” she says, glancing over at TK again with what can only be described as a parental look. “Don’t do anything that might pull your stitches while I’m gone.”

TK groans for the second time in five minutes, burrowing deeper into Carlos’s side. Carlos tilts his head down to press a gentle kiss into his hair, dragging his fingers back and forth along TK’s lower back to soothe him. They’re quiet as Gwen leaves without another word, closing the front door behind her.

“Honestly,” TK says when they’re finally alone, shifting so that they are chest-to-chest as he wraps his arms around Carlos, pressing his face into his neck, “that’s the best first meeting my mom has ever had with a boyfriend of mine. And because I know you’re silently panicking about it, stop worrying, she likes you. If she didn’t, you’d be calling her ‘Gwyneth.’”

Carlos chuckles, his breath catching when he feels TK’s lips on his skin. He pulls his boyfriend closer to him, pressing his palms flat against TK’s lower back as he inhales deeply. 

“I like her, too,” Carlos admits, nuzzling into TK’s temple as they sway slightly in each other’s arms.

“You do?” TK asks, his voice hopeful.

“Yeah,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to TK’s forehead. “You have this intensity about you, and I finally know where you get it from.”

TK pulls back slightly, staring up at him with wide eyes. “You think I’m intense?”

“I think you’re everything,” Carlos corrects him, leaning in to rub the ends of their noses together. “I think you feel things so deeply, you’re so emotionally-centered and invested in everyone and everything around you, and I can’t get enough of it. It leaves me breathless.”

TK’s breath stutters, and Carlos watches as his blue-green eyes begin to shine. His heart hammers in his chest, overcome with emotion for the man in front of him; the man that he loves with his whole heart, even if he can’t say it out loud yet. He opens his mouth to speak, but TK doesn’t give him a chance to continue, pressing up to connect their lips in a passionate kiss.

Carlos sways towards him, magnetized by the pull of TK’s entire being. He drags both of his hands up TK’s back to cup his face, his fingers spreading out to cradle his angular jaw as their tongues connect, dancing around one another. 

It’s a kiss meant to consume him, and Carlos succumbs to the fire without objection. He feels TK all around him - his touch, his taste, his smell. Even with his eyes closed, he appears on the inside of his eyelids, the lines of his face and body clearly drawn from memory, as if he’s been tattooed onto every inch of Carlos’s body, both inside and out.

“Oh my god,” TK gasps when they have to break away for air, his own hands coming up to grip the back of Carlos’s head. He feels his boyfriend’s fingernails dig gently into his scalp, the sharp sensation sending a shiver through his entire body. “Come on.”

TK moves fast, reaching for his hand and pulling him further into the house.

“What about your stitches?” Carlos asks as they make their way down the hall towards TK’s room.

“My, my, Officer Reyes, someone’s a little forward today,” TK teases, stopping in the doorway to fold himself into Carlos’s body once again, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I just thought you might want to change out of your uniform, get more comfortable for dinner.”

“Oh,” Carlos says blankly, staring into TK’s blown pupils. “Right, of course.”

“And if you’d like a little help,” TK adds, rising up to whisper directly in his ear, “I happen to have two perfectly capable hands.”

Carlos can’t help it when a moan falls from his lips, ducking down to press an open-mouthed kiss under TK’s ear. He feels more than hears the chuckle that TK releases in response.

“We should get started then,” Carlos says, his voice gruff with building want, the blood in his head rushing south. “My uniform has a lot of buttons, and I’m careful with them, as you know.”

“Oh, you are,” TK agrees, reaching down to grab the buckle of Carlos’s belt and dragging him into the room. “I’m much less so, but I’m sure you’ll learn to adapt.”

Carlos laughs, completely enamored by the bright, wonderful man before him. 

“More than happy to, babe,” he assures him, reaching behind him to close the bedroom door.

You know, just in case time gets away from them.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://howtosingit.tumblr.com/)


End file.
